Winter's Daughter
by Vicantis
Summary: After the battle of New York, Captain America goes to speak with Agent Coulson's niece. And finds the granddaughter of an old friend.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to Marvel. I'm just playing around in their world for a bit.

Author's Note:

I got the idea for this while I was at work, and listening to Linkin Park's "A Thousand Suns" album, shortly after I watched "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" . Needless to say this is going to be a wild ride.

**Winter's Daughter**

**Chapter 1**

"That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did." Stark blurted out, just five minutes after arriving on the bridge of the Hellicarrier.

Nick Fury pinched the bridge of his nose, as he tried to stave off the headache that was beginning to flare, courtesy of both the shit from Loki, and now Stark. Just as he started to say something in response, someone's cell phone started ringing. Everyone started looking around, but it was Agent Coulson's look that caught their attention. Natasha had never quite seen that expression on her Handler's face before, not even when Hawkeye had played another prank on the new recruits. But, before she could say anything, Phil looked at Fury with a grimace on his face.

"Sorry, Boss. Saving the world or not, I'd better take this call. You know how She gets." He said.

Fury winced and merely nodded. "Stay close though. You need to here this."

Coulson nodded as he moved into a corner to answer the call, only to jerk the phone away from his ear as the voice of a rather irate, young woman blasted through the speaker.

"PHILLIP COULSOUN WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?! YOU CALL YOUR SISTER RIGHT NOW!" she shouted quite clearly into the silence of the bridge.

Phil cringed as Steve Roger's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Jamie, now is really not a good time for this. I promise, I'll call her tomorrow." He said calmly, only to jerk the phone away again.

"You'd better! It's been two weeks, and you still haven't called to say 'Happy Birthday' to her!" she stated firmly before hanging up.

Coulson sighed in irritation as he put his phone away. Turning around, he saw everyone staring at him. "My niece is a little high strung." He said calmly. And that was the end of that.

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Nearly three days later, after the battle was over.

Before the Avengers gathered for one last time, to see Thor return to Asgard with Loki and the Tessaract, Steve asked Fury about where he could find Agent Coulson't niece. Fury raised an eyebrow at the request.

"Why do you wish to know, Captain Rogers?" he asked, curious about the request.

Steve looked down in remorse, before he looked Fury straight in the eyes.

"Because, Sir. She deserves to hear it directly from me as to why her Uncle is dead, as opposed to an impersonal letter." he said firmly.

After giving him a long look, Fury nodded. "Alright. She lives in North Carolina. Somewhere near Virginia. I'll give you her information."

Steve sighed in relief. "Thank you, Sir."

"Don't mention it."

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After Steve had left, Agent Hill gave the Director a sharp look.

"You do realize that he's going to find out, right?" she questioned.

Fury shrugged. "She has the clearance, plus She's able to help him more than we are right now."

He gave her a smirk, saying "And I don't envy Coulson when she finds out."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to Marvel. I'm just playing around in their world for a bit. Anything you don't recognize is mine. And, Yes, that does include the big motorcycle mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. You can thank my Dad for letting me borrow his bike for my story. The helmet is mine though.

**Winter's Daughter**

**Chaper 2**

After about a day and a half of riding, Steve pulled his motorcycle into the parking lot of a diner in the town that Director Fury had said Agent Coulson's niece lived. He parked next to a black Harley Davidson that for some reason had four wheels instead of the normal two. Curious, he walked around it, chuckling at the mismatched helmet hanging from the handle.

The helmet amused him, because it was white with silver waves and red stars, and looked like it belonged to a street bike rather than the Beast of a cycle it was on. But looking at the back made him burst out laughing because of the blue bumper sticker that stated "My other car is a Broom" in yellow letters.

He was still grinning at the sticker as he entered the diner, only to hear the one thing that he still despised; a bully. He looked up to see a dark-haired man, close to his height but not his build, harassing someone sitting in a booth in the corner of the diner. Steve walked over to see if there was anyway that he could help, but it seemed that the auburn-haired woman had it handled.

"Come on, Jamie. You know that no one else in this town is going to bother dating you." The man stated.

The woman looked up with a piercing look in her blue eyes. "And just who's fault is that, Jack? Certainly not mine." She stated.

Jack stared at her then smirked. "Hey, I'm the best you're gonna get around here. So why not just give in?"

She snorted. "You do remember that I have the cell numbers for both the Sheriff and the Chief of Police on speed dial right? All I need to do is make one call, and I can have both of them here on the double. Do you really want to spend a few days in jail for harassing me, again?" she stated calmly.

Jack gave her a disgusted look. "Jamie you are going to burn in Hell." He spat.

"Why? Because I don't want to be around a misogynistic arsehole, whose brain is the size of his dick? Yeah. Sure. You go on ahead and keep thinking that." She said as she rolled her eyes.

Jack just growled and stormed out of the diner.

Steve, who had sat down in an adjacent booth, blinked in stunned bemusement, as Jamie started slamming her head down onto the tabletop. He was about to speak to her, when a petite blonde waitress walked over with a menu.

"Hi, my name is Shelby, I'll be your waitress. Is there anything that I can get you to drink while you look over the menu?" she asked with a smile. She was so perky, that Steve couldn't help but smile back.

"I'll have a cup of coffee and a glass of water, thank you." He said.

"Sure thing. I'll be back with your drinks in just a minute. Take as long as you need to decide." She said before walking over to the booth where Jamie had finally stopped beating her head on the table.

She sighed. "What happened Jamie?" she asked.

Jamie scowled. "Jack Colby is what happened. Arsehole thinks that because he's made it so I can't get a date in this town, it means I'm desperate enough to date him. Fat chance of that happening." she growled.

"Oh Jamie, don't worry. You'll figure it out." Shelby said with a smile. "In the meantime, someone new in town is sitting in the booth across from you. He's pretty cute too."

Jamie raised an eyebrow at the perky waitress. "What are you saying, Shelby?"

"Nothing. I need to go get his drinks, and a refill of sweet tea and an ice pack for you." And with that, Shelby went behind the counter to fix the drinks and ice pack.

Steve was still browsing the menu (and wincing at the prices), when a close voice startled him.

"The burgers are really good here, and so are the fries. But it's the milkshakes that are to die for. They're old-fashioned malts."

Steve looked up, startled to see Jamie sitting in the other seat of the booth, giving him a piercing stare. Suddenly, she smiled at him. Both the stare and the smile reminded Steve of someone so important to him that his heart clenched with pain.

"Really?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yep. And for some reason, you remind me of someone."

Shelby came back just then with both of their drinks, as well as Jamie's ice pack.

"Here you go. Did you decide on what you'd like to order?" she asked, taking out her notepad.

Steve looked over at Jamie then smiled at Shelby. "I've heard that the burgers are excellent here. So, I'll have a burger with the works, a side of fries, and a vanilla milkshake, thank you."

Shelby nodded as she wrote down his order. "Okay then, I'll be back shortly with your order."

As she walked away, Steve turned back to face Jamie. "So, what made you decide to sit over here?" he asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

She sipped her iced tea some before answering. "Number 1, you looked like you were ready to kick Jack Colby's behind for me, and I know you haven't got a clue who he is. Number 2, you look like you're looking for someone. Number 3, like I said earlier, you look really familiar to me and I almost never forget a face." She said, sipping her tea some more and grinning.

Steve smiled back. "Number 1, you're right, I was. Number 2, I am. And number 3, I don't know how, considering I've never been here before."

Jamie just laughed. "Got a name, oh rescuer of not-so-distressed damsels?"

"Steve Rogers, nice to meet you." He said holding out his hand. "And I don't like bullies. I don't care who they are or where they're from."

She stiffened slightly, but smiled and returned the handshake. "I'm Jamie. And that's good to know. So, who are you looking for? Perhaps I can help." She said as Shelby brought not only Steve's order, but a second order of nearly the same thing, that she set down in front of Jamie, who just shrugged.

"I come here often enough that Shelby knows what I'm going to order, depending on the time of day that I come in." she said, snagging a fry.

Steve nodded before taking a bite out of his burger. And promptly embarrassed himself moaning over how good it was. Hearing a muffled giggle, he opened his eyes to see Jamie covering her mouth while she laughed. She grinned and waved another fry at him.

"Man, your lover must really enjoy having you at the dinner table if you do that often." She said with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"I-I-I don't have a…" he stuttered, blushing. He was definitely not used to having someone flirt with him.

Jamie nodded. "Well, when you do get a lover, be prepared. Because if you do that around them, you will be jumped."

Steve choked a bit on his water. "_I'm never going to get used to the blunt way that people have of talking in this time_." He thought to himself as Jamie patted him on the back to help ease the coughing from the choking fit.

Once she had sat back down, she ate a bite of her burger before speaking. "Now, on to other things. You said earlier that you were looking for someone?" she asked, munching another fry.

Steve had a mouthful as he nodded. Swallowing the bite he'd taken he answered. "I'm actually looking for the niece of a friend of mine. I have some news for her." He said as he grabbed a couple of fries.

Jamie nodded. "So what's the name? I'm probably the best person to tell you where to find someone in this town." She said slurping on her malt, not expecting his next words.

"It's Coulson." He said.

Hearing that, Jamie choked on her shake. After coughing for a minute, she looked up at Steve.

"Damn, you must have the luck of the gods or something. What the hell has my Uncle Phil done _this_ time?" she asked, groaning.

Steve stared at her wide-eyed.

She sighed. "Phil Coulson is my Mom's little brother. And I should probably re-introduce myself."

She looked at him with those blue eyes, once again reminding him of someone he knew.

"_Why does she remind me so much of Bucky?_" he thought to himself.

As if she could read his mind, she gave him a big grin.

"My name is Jamie Buchanan Rebecca Barnes. And you, Steve Rogers, were my Grandfather's best friend." She said as everything stopped.

"_Oh, that's why._" Steve thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Sorry I haven't updated in a year's time. I had a lot of stuff going on in real life. Not going to get into it, but one of the reasons it took me so long, was that I lost the notebook all of this was in. Here now though.

**Disclamer: I don't own anything that you recognize from Marvel. I'm just doing this for fun. I do own certain characters and Jamie's beast of a bike. Enjoy.**

**Winter's Daughter**

**Chapter 3**

Steve's brain stuttered to a halt. At first, he wanted to deny what she had said, but the more that he looked at her, the more that he realized she was telling the truth.

"How…" he began, but she interrupted him.

"It's quite simple, really. Gran and Grandfather met, they went dancing, had a bit more to drink than what they should have, and had sex. Only, Gran got pregnant, and because he was the only one she'd ever been with, she told him the truth, and since he was a good man that owned up to what he'd done, the two of them eloped. Sadly, that happened the night before he shipped out for England. So, Gran ended up a war widow, and my Dad never got the chance to meet or get to know his own father." Jamie said with a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Steve blinked. Then, after a few minutes of silence, spoke.

"The night before Bucky shipped out, we went to the World Expo with two dames, after which we were supposed to go dancing. That was also the night that I was finally able to enlist. But Bucky would have told me. He told me everything." He said softly.

She nodded. "Gran told me that you and he were close. She also said that Grandfather was upset that you chose to try to enlist again, rather than going with them. He was going to have you stand with him, like Gran's friend did for her. He was also going to ask you to look out for her and my Dad, but no one could find you, and he was shipped out the next morning. And if you've been wondering just how the heck I recognized you… Well. Gran had pictures of you and Grandfather. Both before and after you became the Captain."

Steve sighed. Well now things were starting to make sense. And it explained a lot of why she had kept reminding him of Bucky. Although, it didn't explain why Bucky never told him. Unless he'd forgotten. Steve opened his mouth to ask about that only to be interrupted… Again.

"Mind explaining to me as to why Jack Colby just stormed past me ranting about a "stupid tranny slut" and how he's the best she's ever going to get?" asked a man dressed in a police uniform.

Jamie scowled, while Steve looked confused. "I swear, I'm going to kick that arsehole's head in one of these days." She stated darkly.

The officer sighed and after grabbing a chair, sat down. "I swear Bucky. What did you do to piss him off this time?" he asked.

Steve choked. He could not have heard that right.

She was glaring at the table as she spoke. "He's angry because I turned him down yet again. I swear. Ever since he found out that my birth certificate said 'James Buchanan Barnes III' on it because of a clerical error, he's been under the false impression that I was born a boy who went under the knife to become a woman. He's made it all but impossible for me to get a date in this town."

Steve's eyebrow raised.

"You need to be careful around him. Friends since diapers or not, it looks bad for the Chief of Police to be bailing someone out of jail." The man said before looking at Steve. "And I see you have a visitor. Hi, I'm Robert Sanchez, nice to meet you." He said, holding his hand out to Steve, who shook it.

"Steve, same to you. Does she always get into trouble?" he asked, nodding at Jamie, who stuck her tongue out at him before grumbling about him having been a Chihuahua with aggression issues, which… what?

Robert laughed, both at Steve's expression and Jamie's comment. "Man, Bucky must really like you. She doesn't call just anyone a Chihuahua. But to answer your question, not really. Jack just has a bad habit of pushing Bucky's buttons until she tosses a couple of cherry bombs up his tailpipe. She is one woman you don't want to get mad, because she gets creative." Robert said with a grin.

Steve laughed. Thinking of Peggy Carter, he nodded. "I know some women like that."

Jamie snorted. "They never proved it was me. And how would you know about that anyway? You were out of town when it happened." She said with a suspicious look at him.

"Roger told me." Came the deadpanned reply. "And then you told me, when you were slightly drunk due to your meds."

She winced then shrugged. "Shit happens. And no more game nights when I'm on a pain med schedule. Now, Robbie, I need to talk to Steve here. I'll call you later."

Robert nodded. "Your Uncle Phil trying to set you up on a blind date again Bucky?"

Steve choked while she laughed at her best friend.

"Nah, I think he's trying to suck up to me so I'll send him some stuff, 'cause I chewed him out over the phone a couple of days ago for missing Mom's birthday. But damn. What a boytoy he sent me!" she said, wiggling her eyebrows with a grin.

As Steve tried to get his blushing under control, Robert laughed and walked off.

When Steve finally looked up, he saw that Jamie was giving him a long searching look, with no trace of the earlier joking expression visable. After a few minutes, she spoke softly.

"I have a feeling that what you need to speak to me about is gonna take a while. I also have the feeling that you don't have a place to stay right now. Nearest hotel is forty miles south of here, but I've got plenty of room at my place. C'mon."

With that, she got up, walked to the counter, paid and walked out.

After a couple of minutes passed, Steve got up to pay for his meal, but was stopped by Shelby.

"Don't worry about it honey. Jamie already took care of your bill. You just go catch up." She told him with a smile.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Shelby nodded. "I'm sure. You take care of her, you hear me. I haven't seen her act that way in a while, and that's a good thing. You get her to bring you by for breakfast. Now go on, don't keep her waiting." She said, shoving Steve to the door.

Steve chuckled as he left, only to stop at the sight of Jamie sitting on the motorcycle he'd seen earlier.

"What..?" He started to say, but stopped, looking at Jamie, whose auburn hair blazed red in the sun. She looked up at him and grinned.

"Yes, this is my bike. I've had the license for it since I turned 18. And Mom had a fit and nearly shot both Dad and Uncle Phil for taking me to get said license. I'll explain the bike later, because right now, I want to get home." She said as she pulled her helmet on.

Once Steve was on his ("Put your helmet on, state law demands it."), Jamie fired up her beast of a bike and pulled out of the parking lot. Steve fired up his and quickly followed.

'Well,' Steve thought to himself. 'Here we go. One day at a time.'


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yes, I know it's been a year since I last updated. RL has been kicking my butt. That and I lost my notebook that I had this written in. As you can see, I found it. Yes, this is a short chapter. It's the same length in my notebook, with a few changes here and there. Enjoy.  
**

**Winter's Daughter**

**Chapter 4**

After a twenty minute ride, Steve followed Jamie down a long driveway nearly hidden by trees, that led to what Steve initially thought was a simple three story house. Of course, it was only after parking the 'cycles that he realized it was much bigger. It was certainly different from most houses he'd seen since waking up in this new century.

For starters, the house itself was painted blue and had white shutters. And for all that it was painted such a bright color, it seemed to blend with the forest that partly surrounded it. Halfway around the sides of the house though, the trees gave away to open sky.

'Well this is different.' Steve thought to himself, as he got off his motorcycle. Tossing his duffle on to his back, he noticed Jamie still sitting on her bike, helmet off, with a pained expression on her face.

"Are you okay?" he asked, wondering if there was something he could do.

Jamie nodded with a grimace. "Old injuries decided to flare up on me. And I can't take my painkillers for them for a few more hours. Don't worry, Steve. I'm used to this by now." She said softly with a pained smile, as she climbed off her 'cycle.

She led the way, walking down a natural stone path that had wildflowers planted around it. Opening the door, she gave a slightly dramatic bow, stating "Well, Steve Rogers, welcome to Winter's Holding."

Steve chuckled a bit as he stepped through the door. Once inside however, he paused taking in the very large, very open room. So unlike where he'd been living lately, there was lots of light coming in through the windows. The furniture was slightly mismatched, with large plush overstuffed sofas and armchairs in different colors. A large bay window towards the back showed a fence line and beyond that, there were beautiful mountains in the distance. At that moment, Steve was wishing he had his sketchbook.

He turned to see Jamie watching him closely. Before he could say anything though, she tossed her head slightly.

"Come on, I'll show you were you can bunk. And where you can grab a shower." She said. Limping slightly, Jamie led him the stairs to a room that was decorated in soft blues and greens. She spoke as Steve looked around the room.

"This'll be your room while you're here. Let me know if you need anything."

Steve nodded. "Thank you. But why are you doing all of this?" he asked.

"How about I answer that later? In the meantime, there is a bathroom attached to this room. Go get a shower, take a nap, just get relaxed. This is your space now. We'll talk downstairs later." With that, Jamie turned and left the room.

Steve looked down at his duffle, trying to figure out how things had gotten to this point. Just as he set his duffle on the bed, Jaime stuck her head back in the doorway, with an impish grin on her face.

"By the way, there are towels and other bathing supplies in the cabinet. Be sure to use plenty of soap, because man, do you stink." Just like that she was gone again.

And Steve just laughed, because that… was pure Bucky.

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After a shower and a brief nap, Steve made his way downstairs. Standing in the living room, he felt a little lost, until he heard the soft whisper of footsteps on carpet. He spun around, tensed for action, until he realized it was Jamie coming in from the kitchen with two glass beer bottles.

Of course, his jaw dropped when he got a good look at her. The pair of shorts and fitted ARMY t-shirt didn't bother him, he'd seen women wearing less than that in New York. No, what made him stair was the mass of scars and brace on her right leg.

"Part of the long story I'll tell after you tell my what my uncle has done." She said, setting the bottles onto coasters on the coffee table, having noticed his staring. "Sit and have a cold one." She sat on one of the large sofas.

Steve shook himself and raised an eyebrow at the offered bottle as he sat down. "You do realize I can't get drunk, right?" he asked.

Within a flash, that impish grin from earlier was back on her face.

"Oh good!" she said grinning. "I can't either. That's root beer."

Eyebrow still raised, he took a sip, only to taste something he hadn't had since before the war and before he'd gone under the ice.

"Where..?" Steve started to ask when Jamie interrupted him.

Blue eyes sparkling, Jamie said, "This is the best old-fashioned root beer you'll find. They also make a really good old-fashioned cream soda that's good with ice cream. I've got more in the fridge for later."

Then, her blue eyes turned serious. "Now. What did my uncle do?" she asked looking Steve straight in the eyes.


	5. A brief note

I know you're expecting this to be a new chapter. It's not, unfortunately. I'm putting Winter's Daughter on hold for a while.

The reason why I'm doing this, is because my younger brother passed away on March 9th 2016. I'm still grieving.

He was my biggest sounding board when it came to this story.

When I feel I can write again, I'll replace this note with the new chapter. Until then, I need time.

Thank you for understanding.

Vicantis.


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